Chapters:

Dorrie felt cold. The cold was caressing her left cheek, running
down her spine. She shivered slightly, crumpling into a ball.
"Look at it," she heard a gravelly woman's voice snarl. "It's
repulsive!" "Yes, most certainly, your honor," a raspy voice
squeaked in return. Dorrie froze, keeping her eyes shut. She
slowed her breathing to make it look like she was still asleep.

"Just horrible!" the first voice continued. "These revolting
creatures are contaminating our sea. We have to get rid of them!"
"Yes, of course, your honor," the second agreed.

"Why is it that they all look the same?"

"I don't know, your honor."

"I'm happy Grudge found them; I don't know what I'd do without
him. Come here, Grudge!"

"You are promoted for all of your hard work. You get to kill the
creatures once they go insane!"

"Thank you, your honor. You are being greatly generous."

"I know, Grudge. Now, go back and guard the door before I change
my mind."

Dorrie tried to calm her trembling hands, but it was no use. Fear
tightened around her stomach, and she felt queasy. "When are
these creatures going to arouse?!" the woman roared, her voice
ricocheting off of the walls. Dorrie was able to tell that the
room was big; the woman's voice echoed for a long time, dying out
after about twenty seconds.

A grimy, fat mermaid sat at a throne made solely out of crystal.
Her green-tinted hair swayed in the water above her and her
thick, blue tail flapped around restlessly. Wait a
minute, Dorrie thought, frowning slightly. Water?

Dorrie sucked in her breath, even though she knew she had been
breathing the water in for who-knows-how-long. What's going
on? How come I can breathe water? She tucked a strand of
hair behind her ear, and it brushed against a tear in her flesh.
With silent horror, she gingerly felt her neck. Four long gills
had been carved into her skin, ragged and bloody.

Somehow, she was able to breathe in the water through them.
Of course, she thought bitterly. How can I not
expect to be able to breathe underwater, what with all the
other crazy things happening?

Dorrie looked around the room. Like she expected, it was huge.
The bare walls were made out of hard concrete, although at some
places it was chipping off a bit. Seaweed grew through the cold
tiles on the floor, and once in a while a fish would swim up from
under them and wander around the room.

Dorrie began to realize that they were in a dome. Well, Dorrie
assumed it was a dome, because she was only in one half of it.
She turned around and looked at the wall where the dome was
divided.

She sucked in her breath. A large, malicious pig stood guarding
the wooden door behind him. His hairy ears flopped down behind
his head, and there was a large bejeweled ring around his snout.
Dorrie noticed that on his neck, too, there were four jagged
gashes in his muddy-brown skin. His black, beady eyes looked at
her and Image ferociously, narrowing down to slits. If looks
could kill, Dorrie thought uneasily.

"Oh, don't be afraid of good ol' Grudge. He's harmless," said the
mermaid sitting in the crystal throne.

Image wasted no time getting to the point. "Who are you?" she
asked with confidence. "Why are we here? What're you gonna do to
us?"

The fake smile dimmed a little on the fat woman's face, but she
snapped it back on in a flash. "Now, now, sweets. Not so many
questions at one time! My name is Calyx, but you're welcome to
call me 'your honor.' I obviously don't want to boast, but I must
tell you-I am the ruler of the sea."

Image rolled her eyes while Dorrie stayed where she was, frozen.
"Okay, Calyx. Why'd you bring us here?"

Calyx smiled, which ended up looking more like a twisted grimace.
"I didn't personally bring you here; it was my guard,
Grudge. He's right over there-say hi, Grudge!"

Grudge mumbled a reluctant "Hello" and made no attempt to smile.

Image ignored him while Dorrie waved timidly. "You didn't answer
my question, Calyx," she said, an annoyed edge in her voice. "Why
are we here?"

"Of course, honey," Calyx rambled, a little bit too
wholeheartedly. "You're here to help my army and I defeat
the…um…the Cavities. Is that what they're called?" "Yes, your
honor." "Ah, yes. The Cavities."

For the first time, Dorrie spoke up. "Um, sorry to rain on your
parade, but if you're a Cavity, you immediately get terminated."
Image nodded in agreement, a smug smile playing at her lips.

Calyx opened her mouth as if she were about to say something, but
then closed it again. After a minute or two, she said, "Right,
right, of course. Excuse me-getting old sure does have its
downsides! I've been so forgetful lately."

"So, what are you going to make up next?" Image challenged.

Calyx's eyes flashed; finally, she was beginning to get annoyed
with them. "Oh, so that's how you want to play it?" she
whispered sweetly.

Image stepped up before Dorrie could stop her. "Bring it on," she
spat, sneering.

Calyx rose to her feet-or, tail, rather-and supported herself
with a golden cane that was clutched in her wrinkled hand.
"Grudge, put them in the dungeon!" she hollered across the room.

Image and Dorrie barely had enough time to blink before they felt
Grudge's strong grip on their frail shoulders. Wow,
Image thought. Dorrie should really work out more.

Soon they were being yanked towards the brown door. "Stop, let
go!" Dorrie hissed through her teeth, struggling against Grudge's
inhuman grasp. Even though she knew it was pointless, she tried
wriggling out of his grasp.

Obviously, it didn't work.

The door was swung open, and they were thrown violently into a
dark, musty room. This must be the other half of the
dome, Dorrie thought.

Before either of them could move, the door slammed shut and they
were trapped in complete and utter darkness.

"Image," Dorrie whispered pathetically.

Silence. Then a small, "Yeah, Dorrie?"

"What do we do now?"

Image sighed. "You're asking the wrong person, Dorrie."

Slowly, Dorrie crumpled to the floor and hugged her legs close to
her body in defeat. Just one problem after the other,
she thought. Then, with a surprise, she noticed that she was
crying. Big, salty tears dribbled down her cheek and over her
nose. Thank God it's dark in here, she thought.

For a few everlasting minutes, the two stayed silent as they
wrapped their heads around their new dilemma. Both of them were
too absorbed in their own thoughts and problems to notice a faint
scuffle in the back of the room.

But they weren't that absorbed; both of them froze when
they heard a few light footsteps. Instinctively, Dorrie grabbed
Image's hand. Then, in disgust, they both shook out of each
other's grip.

Image decided to be brave and speak up. "Is anybody here?" she
called out, her voice echoing as Calyx's did in the other room.
At first, they heard nothing.

But when they listened closer, they heard faint, ragged
breathing. Dorrie cleared her throat. "Speak up," she said
clearly. "Image, we're not alone."